The "McClure's Early Life of Lincoln," which has just been published,
is worthy of comment in these pages for several reasons.
1st. It contains no less than twenty portraits of Lincoln; and
although this is only one-third of the number that will appear in
the whole life, it is more than twice as many as have appeared in
any previous life. Furthermore, most of the portraits are new to the
public.
2d. There are a large number of entirely fresh documents, several
of which are absolutely essential to a full understanding of Abraham
Lincoln, and some of which make it necessary to revise our opinion of
Lincoln's career.
3d. It contains a remarkable record of the achievements of the Lincoln
family, whose services to the country extended through nearly a
century--a century which included the Revolutionary War and the Civil
War. Lincoln himself was ignorant of much of the history we have given
about his ancestors; but in the light of the facts set forth, his
career is logical and easily understood.
4th. We have shown by new documents that Lincoln's father was by no
means the colorless individual we have hitherto understood him to be.
The reminiscences of Christopher Columbus Graham, first published in
this volume, together with records we have unearthed in Kentucky, show
that Thomas Lincoln was the owner of a farm three years before his
marriage, that he was a good carpenter, and that he was held in esteem
by his neighbors; while according to Mr. Graham, Thomas's brother
Mordecai (uncle of Abraham Lincoln) was a member of the Kentucky
legislature. His two sisters married into leading families.
5th. In regard to Lincoln personally, we have shown how thoroughly he
educated himself, so that at twenty-six he was able to more than hold
his own as a member of the legislature of Illinois.
It does not detract from the great fame of Abraham Lincoln to show
that he was a worthy son of a splendid ancestry, for his extraordinary
personality would be just as hard to account for had he been a
scion of the most notable family in the world. When a man climbs the
Matterhorn it matters little whether he began his journey at Zermatt
or a few furlongs farther on.
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